National Wildlife Refuge Week

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A youngster gets a close-up look at a crayfish. Refuges around the country will host celebrations and connect-with-nature events for kids and families in honor of National Wildlife Refuge Week during the week of October 9 through 15.

Credit: Steve Hillebrand

Scores of refuges will host special Refuge Week events October 9 through 15 to celebrate America’s majestic wildlife heritage. Since Theodore Roosevelt established the first national wildlife refuge in 1903, the Refuge System has become the world’s premier public lands conservation network, encompassing 553 refuges and 38 wetland management districts. See what’s planned at a refuge near you by checking the event calendar listings.

11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Learn how settlers made soap and brooms, smoked meat, and survived in and around the swamp; sample boiled peanuts, soup and biscuits cooked on a wood-burning stove; enjoy bluegrass music and stories, and join in wheelbarrow races at Okefenokee Festival and historic Chesser Island Homestead Open House.